In the past, video conferencing devices have been connected to a private network with a Video Management System (VMS) by technicians or network (system) administrators employed by the owners of the private network or by local Information Technology (IT) professionals employed by the user of the video conferencing devices. Video conferencing devices may provide authentication credentials to the private network in order to get access to the private network (e.g., the video network). Installers of the credentials may view the authentication credentials in order to install the credentials on the local video conferencing device.
Allowing a local IT professional or user to view the authentication credentials may allow this untrusted entity or person to have unauthorized access to an otherwise secure private network. Since the credentials may not be tied to a specific device, this may allow the credentials to be used or misused by the local IT professional for purposes adverse to the purpose and security of the private network. There are numerous ways authentication credentials which are viewable by a local IT professional or user can be used jeopardize the privacy and security of the private network.
Furthermore, the private network administrators can have difficulty installing the credentials remotely without a local IT professional because the video conferencing devices may not be accessible remotely since the devices are remote and are not currently on the private network.
Some prior solutions for installing credentials include installing Network Access Control (NAC) credentials (authentication credentials) via remote connections, web interfaces, telnet, Secure Shell (SSH), or dataports. These methods use authentication credentials (e.g., 802.1x credentials) that are accessible by local IT professionals.